DER YIDDISH-VINKL January 17, 2003
The old rhyme on Jewish sobriety and gentile inebriety says: Shiker iz a goy, shiker iz er, trinkn miz er, vayl er iz a goy. Nikhter iz a yid. Nikhter iz er, davnen miz er, vayl er iz a yid.
Despite this characterization of the different drinking habits of Jews and non-Jews, the number of drinking songs popular in Jewish folk culture is hardly the product of a people seeking admission to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, backbone of the Prohibition Party.
One example of a popular Yiddish song that deals with drinking is “Tayere Malke” (“Dear Malke”). The original words and music are by Mark Warshavsky (1840-1907), author and composer of many popular Yiddish songs, including “Oyfn Pripetshik.”
The transliteration from the Yiddish is taken from Joseph and Eleanor Mlotek’s compendium, “Pearls of Yiddish Song.” The English version is by Gus Tyler.
Tayere Malke
Tayere Malke —
Gezunt zolstu zayn!
Gis on dem bekher
Dem bekher mit vayn
Fun dem dozikn bekher
Er glantst azoy sheyn,
Hot getrunken mayn zede
Mayne zeyde aleyn
Geven shlekhte tsaytn,
Vi es makht zikh amol
Nor dem bekher hob ikh gehaltn —
Ayzn un shtol.
Es hot mesameyekh geven ale kinder
Bekant iz dos dir,
Funem tatn iz der bekher
Gekumen tsu mir.
Tayere Malke
Gezunt zolstu zayn!
Far vemen zol ikh trinkn
Dem dozikn vayn?
Lekhayim vil ikh trinken
Far dem pintele yid,
Vos mutshet zikh tomid
Un vert keyn mol nit mid!
Lekhayim vil ikh trinken
Un take on an ek,
Far di vos zaynen geforn
Oyf eybik avek!
* * *
Dear Malke
My dearest darling Malke
And may good health be thine
Please, come fill up the beaker
My beaker full of wine.
From this, the selfsame beaker
That shines upon the shelf
My grandpa, he, no shiker,
Reserved it for himself.
There were the troubled moments,
They do come now and then
But I did grip my goblet
As do all mighty men.
It did amuse the children
As you must surely see
To see my daddy’s beaker
When he passed it to me.
And so, my dearest Malke
May health be always thine
Now whom shall I be toasting
With this good glass of wine?
To good life I am drinking
To what does make a Jew
Who endlessly does struggle
But finds his strength anew.
To life, good life, I’m drinking
And I’ll go on and on
For those who have departed.
For those forever gone.